A Taiwanese air force private executed 14 years ago for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl was innocent after all, a military court has ruled.<\/p>\n
The court found there was no evidence linking the airman, Chiang Kuo-ching, to the crime.<\/p>\n
The case has reignited debate in Taiwan over its use of the death penalty.<\/p>\n
Mr Chiang was arrested in 1996 and executed in 1997. The case was reopened last year after a campaign by his parents.<\/p>\n
A fresh investigation later found no evidence of Mr Chiang’s presence at the scene of the crime and established that he was tortured into making a confession.<\/p>\n
Since then, another man with a record of sexual abuse has been identified as a suspect.<\/p>\n
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and the Ministry of National Defence have apologised to Mr Chiang’s family.<\/p>\n
But the officials who handled the original investigation will not be prosecuted. They are protected by a statute of limitations for public employees.<\/p>\n
The ministry issued a statement regarding the court ruling on Tuesday, saying it has learned a lesson and will not allow similar miscarriages of justice to happen again.<\/p>\n